Does this count as clinical exposure?

[premed_hopeful101]

I just received an opportunity to volunteer at a free clinic to work as an exam room coordinator. Essentially my duties involve helping patients with their appointments, chart information, relaying information to doctors/nurses etc. and communicating with patients about the next steps, and helping the MA etc. I was also given an opportunity to start scribing for this clinic 2-3 months from now as there is no availability at the moment.
Will this count as clinical work? I was told the role will be everchanging, due covid things are slowly picking up and they are figuring out where help will be needed the most, but it does involve constant patient interaction and communication.
Will it also look bad if I start scribing so late and am applying this cycle?
I really want to pursue this opportunity because it is a great clinic that does a lot of meaningful work for those who struggle with access to healthcare due to financial difficulties.

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[LizzyM]

You are in a clinical setting and you are face-to-face with patients. You don't need to touch them, just be in close proximity. Okay, that's clinical.

In terms of having an application that looks like "too little, too late", do you have any clinical exposure at all? Did you start college before 2020? Did you have any exposure to clinical settings while in HS? (Usually HS activities are taboo on med school applications but given the limitations COVID placed on institutions and volunteers, I think we need to rethink that for people who were in college in 2020-2021.) Whether you are ready to apply this spring or whether you need another year may depend on what else you have on your application or if this interest in medicine is a new development and one that has not been rigorously tested through life experiences.

 

[premed_hopeful101]

You are in a clinical setting and you are face-to-face with patients. You don't need to touch them, just be in close proximity. Okay, that's clinical.

In terms of having an application that looks like "too little, too late", do you have any clinical exposure at all? Did you start college before 2020? Did you have any exposure to clinical settings while in HS? (Usually HS activities are taboo on med school applications but given the limitations COVID placed on institutions and volunteers, I think we need to rethink that for people who were in college in 2020-2021.) Whether you are ready to apply this spring or whether you need another year may depend on what else you have on your application or if this interest in medicine is a new development and one that has not been rigorously tested through life experiences.

Yes I have a few clinical exposure experiences.
- I started volunteering at a children's hospital in November 2022.
- I began university in Canada in 2018 and graduated June 2022 ( I am currently in a graduate program in the US).
- I also published a clinical research thesis (2nd author) during 2020-2021 school year. I was responsible for recruitment, taking blood pressure, conducting transcranial doppler ultrasounds, and administering CO2 and O2 to participants for the purposes of the experiment.
- Additionally, while not a clinical experience I have also focused on shadowing due to lack of shadow experience, since moving to the US in the fall I have shadowed around 30 hours and am continuing.

 

[LizzyM]

Children's hospital volunteering for about 6-8 months before applying -- a few years would have been better but this is better than nothing.

Research with human subjects is not "clinical". It should be tagged "research" particularly if they were not patients. If they were in, let's say, the ICU while participating in the research I'd still suggest saying it is research but it would have a tint of clinical exposure as you were in a very clinical setting. If the work you were doing was not in a setting where clinical are was being delivered to patients, then it is not clinical although you were using tools used in clinical settings and, from what I can tell, measuring physiologic responses.

Shadowing is good (hard to get in Canada). Thirty hours is a good start -- aim for 50 hours if you can.

 

[premed_hopeful101]

Children's hospital volunteering for about 6-8 months before applying -- a few years would have been better but this is better than nothing.

Research with human subjects is not "clinical". It should be tagged "research" particularly if they were not patients. If they were in, let's say, the ICU while participating in the research I'd still suggest saying it is research but it would have a tint of clinical exposure as you were in a very clinical setting. If the work you were doing was not in a setting where clinical are was being delivered to patients, then it is not clinical although you were using tools used in clinical settings and, from what I can tell, measuring physiologic responses.

Shadowing is good (hard to get in Canada). Thirty hours is a good start -- aim for 50 hours if you can.

I was planning on listing my research as "research", while a very small hint of clinical work it was a pivotal moment in my decision to pursue medicine so I wanted to mention that in my application. I agree that it definitely classifies as research rather than pure clinical work.

My research hours in Canada definitely outweigh my clinical (I have around 1000 research hours), however, I have been trying very hard to gain more clinical experience in the US. With my new volunteering that I am starting next week and the Children's Hospital volunteering, I definitely plan on continuing it for the long term.
I will aim for 50 minimum for shadowing and keep that going thank you so much for the suggestions.

 

[LizzyM]

The research tag on that work is fine. Good choice!

It is not unreasonable to have started out with pure research and then come to the realization that you prefer a more individual approach and a role caring for patients rather than generating generalizable new knowledge as a scientist. That is not an uncommon road and one that certainly explains a late arrival to clinical activities.